Prolongation of the QT Interval and Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients Treated with Arsenic Trioxide for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
Authors: Kazunori Ohnishi, Hiroshi Satoh, Ryuzo Ohno
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2001)

Letters6 November 2001Prolongation of the QT Interval and Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients Treated with Arsenic Trioxide for Acute Promyelocytic LeukemiaKazunori Ohnishi, MD, Hiroshi Satoh, MD, and Ryuzo Ohno, MDKazunori Ohnishi, MDHamamatsu University School of Medicine; Hamamatsu Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan (Ohnishi, Satoh)Aichi Cancer Center Hospital; Nagoya Aichi 464-8681, Japan (Ohno)Search for more papers by this author, Hiroshi Satoh, MDHamamatsu University School of Medicine; Hamamatsu Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan (Ohnishi, Satoh)Aichi Cancer Center Hospital; Nagoya Aichi 464-8681, Japan (Ohno)Search for more papers by this author, and Ryuzo Ohno, MDHamamatsu University School of Medicine; Hamamatsu Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan (Ohnishi, Satoh)Aichi Cancer Center Hospital; Nagoya Aichi 464-8681, Japan (Ohno)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-135-9-200111060-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:The tachyarrhythmias seen in our study were not sustained tachycardia but were nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, accelerated idioventricular rhythm, or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Many cardiologists would not treat these arrhythmias with antiarrhythmic agents, especially if the patients were asymptomatic. We agree that excessive use of antiarrhythmic agents should be avoided.In our study, the QTc interval was prolonged in all patients during arsenic trioxide therapy. However, the basic cardiac condition and the characteristics of ventricular arrhythmias differed somewhat from those expected in the long QT syndrome. First, the patients were heavily treated with chemotherapeutic agents, including anthracycline and all-trans ...References1. Westervelt P, Brown RA, Adkins DR, Khoury H, Curtin P, Hurd D, et al . Sudden death among patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with arsenic trioxide. Blood. 2001;98:266-71. [PMID: 11435292] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Unnikrishnan D, Dutcher JP, Varshneya N, Lucariello R, Api M, Garl S, et al . Torsades de pointes in 3 patients with leukemia treated with arsenic trioxide. Blood. 2001;97:1514-6. [PMID: 11222403] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Hamamatsu University School of Medicine; Hamamatsu Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan (Ohnishi, Satoh)Aichi Cancer Center Hospital; Nagoya Aichi 464-8681, Japan (Ohno) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoProlongation of the QT Interval and Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients Treated with Arsenic Trioxide for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Kazunori Ohnishi , Hitoshi Yoshida , Kazuyuki Shigeno , Satoki Nakamura , Shinya Fujisawa , Kensuke Naito , Kaori Shinjo , Yota Fujita , Hirotaka Matsui , Akihiro Takeshita , Shiho Sugiyama , Hiroshi Satoh , Hajime Terada , and Ryuzo Ohno Prolongation of the QT Interval and Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients Treated with Arsenic Trioxide for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Jean T. Barbey and Steven Soignet Metrics Cited ByDual oligopeptides modification mediates arsenic trioxide containing nanoparticles to eliminate primitive chronic myeloid leukemia cells inside bone marrow nichesCharacterization of cytotoxicity induced by arsenic trioxide (a potent anti-APL drug) in rat cardiac myocytesDrug-Induced Torsades de Pointes and Implications for Drug Development 6 November 2001Volume 135, Issue 9Page: 842-843KeywordsArrhythmiaArsenicChemotherapeutic agentsLiver diseasesMyocardial infarctionNervous systemParoxysmal supraventricular tachycardiaRetinoic acidTachycardiaVentricular tachycardia ePublished: 6 November 2001 Issue Published: 6 November 2001 CopyrightCopyright © 2001 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...